Flowmeter



R. E. TOZIER I 7,818

April 23, 1940.

Filed Dec. 2'7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Robe/v E. .Toz/er ATTORNEY.

R. E. TOZIER FLOWMETER April 23, 1940.

2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Dec. 27, 1938 INVIQINTOR.

Fetented Apr. 23, rate entree stares nane orriea 1 claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 37c 0. G. 75'?) This invention relates to a .fiowmeter of the electrical type, especially intended for-measuring mass rates of flow of gasoline or other nonconducting fluid.

, A further object of this invention is to provide 7 an improved fiowmeter of the type generally shown in U. S. patents to Thomas, Nos. 1,254,374;

and Packard, Nos. 1,321,546; 1,325,040; 1,487,356; 1,525,463; 1,282,926.

An improved feature of this invention over the prior art such as that above referred to, is the particular construction hereof facilitating the use thereof on aerial vehicles. p.

A further object of this invention is to'provide a flowmeter utilizing a particular construction of very sensitive thermocouple enabling more accurate measurements to be made with a much smaller temperature difierential than is possible with measuring means of the prior art.

it Still a further object of this invention is to provide a multiple thermocouple that is particularly sensitive and accurate for use in the flow meter of this invention.

Still a further object of this invention is to 5 provide an accurate portable fluid flowmeter for use in flight in aerial vehicles which will be unaiiected at temperature extremes, moderate accelerations, or changes in fluid characteristics, and may be made remote-indicating.

9 With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view in elevation 01 the flowmeter housing.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 2.

'0 Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 2, with the indicator diagrammatically illustrated.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line"5--5 of Fig. 2;

and,

Fig. 6 is a perspective of the heating elements.

There is shown at it the flowmeter housing provided with a fuel inlet H and a fuel outlet l2. Within the housing Ill is a liner l3 within which is centrally located a thermocouple as sembly I l spaced from the liner it by a passage- 50 way it connected to the fuel inlet H. The thermocouple assembly it is in the form of a cylinder held between a bushing it against the inside of the top of the housing ill and a base ll mounted on the heating unit core it which, in turn, is secured to the housing it by a packing clamp 5 ring and stud screws M. The base ii is provided with a plurality of apertures 22 connecting the outer passageway 05 to the inner passageway 23 within the thermocouple M, the inner passageway 23 connecting to the fuel outlet H2. The 0 heating unit core it serves to seal ofi. the bottom of the passageways l5 and 23 which thereby are connected together by the apertures 22 in the base H.

' The heating unit core 98 is provided with a boss 26 about which is supported a pair of resistor wire heater elements 25 connected to pins 26 and mounted on bolt terminals 28 which extend through the boss 2 of the heating unit core is. To insure a liquid-tight seal the threads 21 of the bolt terminals 28 are shellacked before assembly. The outer ends of the bolt terminals 28 are then provided with conductor mediums connecting them to the inner sides of terminals 28 mounted in a bridge 30, the bridge 30 being secured to the housing it by extended bolts 36. From the terminals 28 there extend suitable conductors 32 to a source of electrical energy 33, an ammeter or similar instrument 3t, and a regulating rheostat 35 for providing a measured amount 30 of electrical potential to the heater elements25. By appropriate manipulation of the rheostat 35 a predetermined amount of heating units will be generated by the heater elements 25 and be given ofi to the fuel entering the inlet H flowing 35 through the passageway it, the base apertures 22 to the inner passageway 23 and through the outlet it.

The thermocouple assembly i l consists of a cylindrical member made up of a plurality of thermocouple holders 35, each of which is in the form of a stepped washer, so that one may be fitted tightly upon the other, holding the assembly in cylindrical form. Each holder, except the bottom one, is slotted radially at its top and bottom,,the bottom one being slotted only at the top, there being preferably thirty-six radial slots equally spaced about each holder so that asthe holders are assembled they provide grooves 50 from the outer passageway. In each layer one wire of "Cromel is joined to a wire of "AlumeP of a lower layer, while its adjacent Alumel wire is joined to a Cromel wire of the next upper layer, thereby joining all the thermocouples in series. In the form shown there are substantially fourteen layers of thirty-six junctions to 'each layer, providing a thermocouple assembly of extreme sensitivity. Finally, one wire of one end of the materials, as the lower end for instance, is joined to a copper wire 40 which is secured to a bolt extending through the heater core boss, while another wire of the other material at the other end is joined to a copper wire 4| extending upwardly through the inner passageway 23, bolt terminals 42 likewise extending through the heater core boss24, the bolt terminals being con- I nected on their outside by connectors 43 to terminals 44 through the bridge 30. The terminals 44 are connected by conduits 45 to a suitable indicator 46 which may be in the form of a millivoltmeter or microammeter.

The meter thus described is similar in principle to the meters disclosed in the Thomas and Packard patents above referred to and flowmeters that measure a temperature difference created in the fluid by the addition of electrically generated heat. The heat input is fixed by the rheostat 15 and current indicator :4, and the temperature difference developed is read as a measure of the rate of fiow at the indicator 4'. V

In assembling the thermocouple assembly l4 the core boss '24 is provided with a rod 41 pinned thereto as at 48 and adapted to extend through the center of the passageway 23 and have a pin 50 driven through its end and the sides of' the bus it after .the thermocouple wires and holders have been properly assembled. All of the wires and all of the terminals that extend through apertures or slots are each sealed with shellac to prevent any leakage of fuel'irom the inner passageway to theouter passageway or to the outside of the flowmeter, so that the fuel can only follow the proper passageway from the inlet to the outlet, through the inner p saseway,

the apertures in the mechanism,'about the heater elements, and out through the inner passageway to the outlet, bathing the thermocouple Junctions in the outer and inner passageways as it passes therethrough.

In practice, current that through the resistance type heater elements. 25 is regulated at a fixed value. The values of the heater resistance and of the current fix the temperature change developed in the stream of fuel passing through the eways l5 and II according to the relation lbJh r. x s' p. heat) (1 Ta (1) where AT is the developed temperature difference.

It, a constant. I, heater current.

R0, resistance of heater wire at temperature To. 1

The value of 5 should be chosen equal to a to eliminate the temperature dependence. This practice may be varied, however, to give other results as desired; e. g., volume rate of flow indication may be found by including the expansion coeflicient of the fluid and by choosing, a suitable value of p. .The instrument described is made to indicate mass rate of flow.

By proper calibration the indicator 48 may read directly in terms of pounds per hour or gallons per hour, as desired, thus enabling the operator or the pilot of an aircraft to know instantly at what rate the aircraft is consuming fuel.

Other modifications and changes in the proportions and arrangements of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the nature of the invention, .within the scope of what is hereinafter claimed.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and/or used by or for the Government 4 of the United States for governmental purposes 45 In a flowmeter for measuring the passage of fuel therethrough, having a housing, a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet in the housing, a heater means mounted between the inlet and the outlet; a.

multi-junction thermocouple comprising a plurality of thermocouples Joined in series, one set of thermocouple junctions being exposed to the incoming fuel before it reaches the heater means and the other set of thermocouple junctions being exposed. to the outgoing fuel after it passes the heater means, a cylindrical assembly consisting of a plurality of stepped washers dished together and a plurality of pairs of thermocouple wires extending radially of said cylindrical 88'? sembly in slots formed between said stepped washers, said pairs of thermocouple wires being joined internally and externally of said cylindrical assembly in series to provide a multiplicity of 

